Star Wars with occasional sarcasm

Roundup: Reacting to Lucasfilm Animation’s new direction and The Clone Wars ending

Monday’s announcement that Lucasfilm was taking its animation division in a new direction, focusing on exploring a new series while bringing a graceful end for Star Wars: The Clone Wars and a hard stop for Detours, brought out a lot of mixed feelings from fans. Many, like Stooge and me, were sad and angry to see The Clone Wars get shut down at its peak. I’ve rounded up reactions from the voice cast of the show, as well as from bloggers and entertainment reporters.

“You get used to shows ending, but this one was different, for many reasons. Star Wars is not just another show or film, it is a part of history and the stuff of legend….

It brought families together on Friday nights from everyday folks to big name celebrities that told me they watched religiously with their kids, it gave the first generation of Star Wars fans the chance to share their love of the franchise with their children, making new generations of fans, it regenerated past characters we’d thought we’d never see again (sometimes to this Jedi’s displeasure) and it even brought us new characters and new depths of understanding to our favorite ones. It was and is a crucial piece of the Star Wars universe and it will be greatly missed by myself and thousands upon thousands of fans across our galaxy…

I only wish the show had been more recognized within our industry with awards to the writers, artists, and of course our greatest proponent and visionary for it, Dave Filoni.”

Keeping the fight going: Before the big announcement, there was already a campaign going to let Disney and Lucasfilm know that The Clone Wars was supported by its fans. It’s not time to give up – fans of The Clone Wars should continue to write letters and otherwise create buzz to keep the show alive, so that we get the most ‘bonus material’ from the winding down that we can get, and in the best formats for us to enjoy it. While online petitions are popular, the best way to let your voice be heard (short of buying advertising space in Hollywood periodicals) is to send letters to both Disney AND Lucasfilm.

A lot of people assume that Disney’s leadership is the one that made the call about not renewing the show for a full sixth season and beyond, and thus Bob Iger needs to get those letters. I am of the opinion that Kathleen Kennedy at Lucasfilm also needs to hear that we support the show and want more of it. In this post-cancellation time frame, it’s probably good to reference the announcement, and show your support for the decision to not simply kill it entirely.

4 thoughts on “Roundup: Reacting to Lucasfilm Animation’s new direction and The Clone Wars ending”

Fans should keep on pushing for the Clone Wars harder than ever. Despite all the respect I have for Mr. Goldman from IGN, the cancellation of the show is NOT ok. 8 seasons of the show have been written, and the ending ties in directly with the Battle of Coruscant according to reliable sources from the SWU. So the approach of Revenge of the Sith doesn’t justify the end. We are simply getting an unfinished show, ending after 5 seasons instead of 8. I am also afraid I do not share Mr. Goldman’s optimism towards the bonus content, which I expect to be around 8-16 episodes long, not a full season.

WE ARE BEING HEARD! It is a fact! Dave Filoni mentioned the letters in the video, which means part of the message went through! So we have to push even harder, to get the full message through! If we managed to get heard when many didn’t believe the show would end, we can change this decision by being even louder, now that we all know and agree the show will end! DO NOT LOSE HOPE! A Disney show, Kim Possible, was already brought back by fan support when it was canceled. If Kim Possible fans can do it, we can! We are Star Wars fans after all! The largest, toughest, most stubborn fanbase that ever came to existence! This is our chance to show Disney that we are masters in our own land, no matter what corporation possesses it.

I already sent a letter to Bob Iger, I’m going to do it again, and I will send a letter to Kathleen Kennedy. I sent already three e-mails, and I am going to make that weekly.

Goldman’s article is essentially claiming that a bird in the bush is worth more than a bird in hand. However, we have no idea if the new show will even happen, much less match the quality of TCW. Unless Goldman knows something more about the new show that reassures him – maybe he does.

I love how Clone Wars has gone from “that dumb kid’s show that messes with continuity” to “Star Wars at it’s best.” It’s a well-deserved transition of opinion, although I think the show grew up a lot from some of its season one clumsiness. Has anyone considered the possibility that the new animated show will simply be a spin-off of the Clone Wars set after Episode 3?